Over break I caught some episodes of Planet Earth on the Science Channel. One expert from the Nature Conservancy gave the best explanation I have ever heard for understanding why it is so important to protect our Earth.
He noted: it may not be significant that a few species have gone extinct (like a type of frog in Latin America or a type of coral in the Pacific Ocean), but as more die off, we will soon not survive. Think of a brick wall—if one or two bricks break or get pushed out, the wall stands, but the wall becomes more and more fragile as bricks disappear.
Experts on the show also pointed out that it is obviously hard to show up at an impoverished village in, say, India and ask residents to protect the Tiger when they are far too busy protecting themselves and their children from starvation and disease. Because they understand that fact, conservationists are looking for ways to support their protection efforts in those devastated areas.
One way is to research the one animal that, if protected, would affect the most species in the area. For instance, protecting a certain rodent may mean keeping plants fertile and food sources available for other endangered species.
Another way is to entice us to donate to their cause. But getting us to donate for a slug or a rat is about as difficult as you would think; thus, we are asked to protect the polar bears, gorillas and other majestic beauties we can admire from a far and snuggle with stuffed versions of in bed.
Here is one — the Black Rhino.
In case you can’t read that, it says the species has declined from roughly 200,000 before 1960 to just about 3,000 today. Check one in action:
More history on the subject here. Find ways to help here thanks to the International Rhino Foundation.
An easy way to help from that list? Try using www.goodsearch.com for your Internet searching needs—every search you make raises funds for the charity of your choice!
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